The "Driving" Factor

Cars are great.  You just hop in, turn the key, turn up the music, adjust the climate, get on the phone.  It's like an office on wheels.  Super!  Instantly you are taken away from the drab asphalt that wastes so many hours of your life.  The commuters comfort.  When gas is cheap, life is good.

But what happens when the outside world interferes; when that bird suddenly dive bombs your beamer reminding you that nature still exists?  Or what if the city adds a speed bump to your neighborhood short cut; another driver cuts you off; a pedestrian J-walks in front of you; a cyclist makes you miss a light; or if you get behind a bus that stops every block??

The solution for motorists is further separation.  More lanes, traffic signals, and signage are added.  The result leaves drivers feeling more entitled to every portion of the road.  But the car culture doesn't end on the road.  It manifests itself in our commercial districts, our neighborhoods, and our schools.  

Successful developments depend on good transportation.  If a business does not have adequate access and parking, their customers will abandon them for more convenient competitors.  New interstate exits can transform farmland into multi-million dollar real estate.  Businesses and residents have been abandoning urban areas in exchange for the conveniences of suburban development for the past two decades.  People are spending more time in their cars than ever before in exchange for the luxuries of strip malls, casual dining, and quant one-acre homesteads.  The number one question retailers ask is "how many parking spaces will we have?"  

The problem is compounded by drive-thru windows, curbside service, and valet parking.  It is ironic that these conveniences hinder the only mode of transportation that we do naturally, walking.  Have you ever had to walk through a drive-thru line to get to the entrance of a McDonald's?  What about walking across six lanes of traffic to get ice-cream after having dinner?  If you've done it once, you may never do it again. 

We need a solution.  The car culture is not sustainable.  With gas prices increasing and the economy in turmoil, now is the time to create a new transportation philosophy.  Our communities can benefit fiscally and socially by modifying street design, increasing density, and rethinking public transportation.  

City officials and developers need to create opportunities for citizens to get out of their cars and throw away the keys before it is too late.

~ Austin

READ: 

Vanderbilt, Tom. "The Traffic Guru." The Wilson Quarterly, 8 Aug, 2008